Afternoon in the "D" w/ the Kids

We were going to go to Lansing today but Isaiah is sick & Stephanie had a headache so I decided to do a little syllabizing & then take them out around here. we grabbed lunch @ American Coney Island. I'd been to Lafayette many time when I was a kid but I'd never been to American. People seem to have a preference, but I don't quite understand the difference... same owners, same food, same atmosphere, same block. Apparently, American beat Lafayette on some Travel Channel show last week; I didn't see it, I've never even heard of the show, so I'm not too impressed w/ the victory. The food, on the other hand, was great. Chili fries & a pair of coneys. I was almost done before I realized they had beer. Oh well... next time.After we ate, wee hit the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. I had never actually been there before... it's amazing! I've sent my students there many times, but the only time I got there was just into the gift shop... never around the actual exhibits. Solstice & Aiden were really into it, but Aiden was (justifiably) creeped out by the Slave Ship exhibit. There was also an exhibit celebrating big, colorful women's hats. I wasn't quite as interested in that, but it was alright. I can't wait to go back. Anyone interested in a trip down there?Or a trip out to Chelsea on Saturday night for Whitey Morgan at the Inverness Inn. The show starts @ 9:00 & I think it's outdoors. I haven't seen them in a few years, & they have a new CD coming out next month, so it should be a fun time.

A Belated Celtic Fest Post

Isaiah's highlight was seeing the large pile of horse-shit while looking @ the Clydesdale, but for me, that was maybe 3rd best... or 4th. On Friday night, Stephanie & I hit the Pub in the Park for a little beer. They didn't have Guinness this year so we enjoyed a few 1/2 gallons of Boddingtons. we were met out there by Daye, Pete, Geo, Andy, Matt, Laurie, & Pete. As you've probably already heard (or read), I finished 2nd Runner Up in the Mr. Pretty Legs in a Kilt contest. The winner (as per usual) was a douche. And he was the key-tar player from the band which makes me assume it was fixed. I made a right fool of myself stumbling around & talking shit as I grabbed the mic from the MC (who turned out to be a better musician when she did her little solo set afterwards than the band). Her tramp-stamp sticking out just above her high-waisted 1989 straight out of a TLC video jeans was ridiculous though. There was much stumbling, slurring, & in the case of a certain person who will remain nameless, vomiting.

On Saturday, my parents came out w/ us & we enjoyed a fun morning & early afternoon looking @ stuff, eating fun food (I had the haggis & the haddock chowder), & just hanging out. The music was good, but we didn't listen to as much as we have in the past. We watched some dude give a talk about Haggis which was funny & informative. However, he suggested a delicious sounding sauce made from heavy cream & whisky that also called for "Black Capers." These seem to be a rather elusive ingredient. I can't find the anywhere... other than some shop in Virginia that claims to carry them but doesn't list the brand. I'll try Morgan & York next time we get Chinese food I guess. Aiden got a deck of cards... his new obsession. Solstice got a key-chain... her new collection. Isaiah loved watching the sheep dog & the birds of prey, but really really loved checking out the horses... hence the horse-shit.

Afterwards, we headed out to Howell for Meg & TC's engagement party. It was fun & we got to see the whole family. Of course, if you ask Isaiah what the highlight was... owls? "Yeah... and horse poop." Did you see Grandma and Grandpa? "Yeah... & horse poop." Did you see Aunt Megan & Aunt Holly? "Yeah... & horse poop." I guess you can't blame him... horse poop is pretty awesome. The 2nd Runner Up Happy couple... a little drunk Watchin' the sheep-dog demonstration The Haggis talk by the guy from the National Trust of Scotland

WCP # 27: Vacation Wap Up - The Upper Lower

After we reentered the Lower Peninsula, we got off of I 75 & hit Fort Michilimackinac. Again, I hadn't been there since I was a kid. Aiden & Isaiah really loved it. They were running around on the deck & in the turrets making gun noises... & Isaiah started it. How did he know to do that? The archaeologists where excavating a house & were about 2 feet deep. They said they'd been working on it for 3 years & had another to go. Archeology is pretty freaking sweet! We had such a good time, I forgot to check out the score of the Netherlands v Brasil match, but I found out soon enough. We considered hitting the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, but we were hungry & needed to find some lunch. About 20 minutes from Mackinac one finds Cross Village & The Legs Inn. It's a little out of the way, but the food & the view of Lake Michigan are amazing. Authentic Polish dishes in a crazy ass stone inn. I got the Pierogis w/ Golabki & Stephanie had the potato pancakes. The waitress, a college student from Warsaw, informed me of the Netherlands victory & then we headed down Pleasant Valley Rd to the Petoskey State Park. After setting up the tent & swimming for a bit @ a proper beach, wee headed to the big Scott Bachelor Petoskey Soccer Alumni match. At the Fort
I was invited by the Rossis even though I never actually went to high school there since I'd grown up playing w/ all of those people & because my dad had a pivotal role in starting the soccer program. He was the JV coach when they started the varsity team when I was in 5th gradeish. After I moved, the team go really good & won the State Tournament a couple times. Playing in a pick-up match w/ those guys was certainly not an easy task, but it was fun. We had dinner afterwards & then headed back to camp. On Saturday, we walked around town in the AM, hit Papa Lou's for lunch w/ my parents who were in town for the soccer party too, & then drove out to Walloon Lake for some swimming. Afterwards, we drove through Boyne City & up the North shore of Lake Charlevoix to get to Charlevoix for dinner where we met up w/ my parents. Dinner @ Great Lakes Whitefish & Chips in The Villager Pub & a stop in Cherry Republic from which we scored some awesome mustard BBQ Sauce, & Cherry Almond butter.

We headed back to the campground in time to watch the fireworks from the beach w/ a few Budweisers. I'm starting to enjoy Budweiser more than I ever imagined I would. The next morning, we grabbed some breakfast, drove through the old neighborhood, & took US 31 down the coast to Traverse City. What did e do there? You'll have to check back tomorrow for the final instalment of the Vacation wrap up to find out. The Circus Shop The single greatest field on which I've ever played Watching the fireworks We have a pic of Solstice on this same rock wearing the same shirt

What? What's that you say? You say you want a Player of the Day? OK. After watching the Netherlands v Uruguay match yesterday, I've decided to make yet another unprecedented decision. Van Bronckhorst's goal was amazing, Robben & Sneijder were great, Van Persie lead the line & even got back to defend. Picking one was difficult until I realized it all came down to 1 man: The coach. Here it is, Your Visions of Ypsi Coach of the Day: Bert Van Marwijk. He made an attacking change @ the interval, bringing on Van der Vaart, & he got these guys to play together as a team. If only the French could have been so lucky. I have a feeling German will win the tournament, but I'm pulling for Spain today. I would love to see van Persie v Fabregas in the final. Embarrassed to be singled out when he assumed everyone should share the award today

WCP #15: Matsuchan & Vuvuzela

After the Verde FC match yesterday morning, a match in which I blew out the inside left big toe of my boots, I went w/ Elizabeth, Dan, & Sammy to Matsuchan, the new ramen shop @ Ford Rd. & Sheldon in Canton. (Check out the review on Yelp. I went w/ the Tofu/Vegetable ramen which may have been a mistake. The salt broth was pretty bland. Both Dan & Elizabeth got much better stuff. I don't recall what Dan got (it was really good though), but Elizabeth got the Soba/Miso Salad & it was awesome. The place is tiny & uber-authentic. Go there.Afterwards, we hit Soccer World on Canton Center. I scored a new pair of boots to replace the blown out toe & I scored some Vuvuzela for the kids. They came to the Green Team match & had a great time blowing them on the side-lines. As for the shoes, I got some Diadoras that were on 1/2 off clearance which was pretty cool. I wore them for the 1st 1/2 & then switched back to the old ones to avoid the blisters while I'm breaking them in. I think they'll work out well.

And now, Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day. a big part of me (but not my cock) wanted to go w/ Patrice Evra for unifying the French squad against Domeneche. I'm loving the melt-down & their willingness to air their dirty laundry on such a grand stage. I think it should really go to someone who actually played yesterday though, which leaves us 2 options. Fabiano finally shined up his scoring boots, but the 1st was lucky & the 2nd was the result of his use of his hand... twice. If Henry is a villain for putting Ireland out w/ a hand-ball, Fabiano must be seen in a similar way. Cote d'Ivoire was looking likely to score until he put in a 2nd which changed everything. They are unlikely to progress now (especially w/ Portugal's hammering of N. Korea while I write this). Of course, they're just Cote d'Ivoire & he's not French so it will go relatively unnoticed. But not by me. This leaves us w/ the 2nd option, a man whom I never would have expected to get this prestegious award. He scored Brazil's 3rd goal, work his ass off, & wass then taken out after a nasty tackle on his shin: Elano. Revolution has come... time to pick up the gun

WCP #9: The Best Laid Schemes....

Problematic Scheme #1:
Yesterday, Stephanie suggested that we try to coordinate out meals w/ the cuisines of the countries represented in the World Cup. Awesome idea! Except that we're 5 days into it, it's only 30 day long, there are 32 countries, & I work a couple nights a week which allows me to break soman w/ the family. That said, we're going to attempt it anyway. Now I have 4 major projects for the summer on top of work, vacation, planning a class & reading for class: 1) Spacey-a-thon 2) world Cup-a-thon, World Cup cuisine-athon & 4) Article in defense of the Vuvuzella (blog post to come soon in regards to this one). I think we'll have to bring a few cuisines together to shorten the proses. N. & S. Korea can share a meal (& their people can learn through example like looking to the Black & White cookie. Uruguay & Paraguay might be able to have a single meal. Nigeria & Cote d'Ivore can go together. Finally, think Australia & New Zealand (bbq shrimp w/ Marmite sandwiches) might work as a one-off as well. We did USA on Saturday w/ Hot Dogs, & England yesterday w/ Bridies, Bangers & Mash, & Ploughmans. We may have to use the Perogies & Kielbasa to represent Germany (they controlled Poland for a little while & it's in the fridge already, is that insensitive? If so, we'll come up w/ something else). I'll keep you all posted on how it works out.

Problematic Scheme #2:
I spent the better part of the last year trying to devise a way to get the family to S. Africa. Obviously, it didn't pan out. I then logged on to The Phil Zone the other day for the 1st time in ages to get a Phish set-list & i found a link to the blog of a fellow Zoner who is actually in S. Africa & going to matches right now. my schemes didn't pan out, but his did. You can check it out here.

Problematic Scheme #3:
I was assuming Buffon would have an easy game for Italy yesterday. I battled my emotions & made him my captain on my fantasy team. As it turns out, he gave up a goal & then was subbed out 2 the half w/ an injury. All my hopes & dreams of appointing him the Player of the Day were dashed. This makes us then move on to other options. The only match I was able to watch yesterday was the 1st one: Netherlands v Denmark. Oddly, Bendtner had a really good game, & oddly, he was then subbed out (his fitness was a question beforehand so maybe he was just still hurt). Of the Dutch though, I was a bit surprised. They played well, but not as well as I expected. The young Eljero Elia (named after a mis-understanding of Al Jarreau's name... I shit you not) had a strong showing, but it was the Arsenal man who takes today's award. Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day: Robin van Persie.

Here he is w/ the strange numbering on his shirt

Reubens in Washtenaw

Over the last 6 months, I've become a bit less vegetarian than I had been for years. In October of 1993, I stopped eating meat & then in the fall of 1997 I went vegan for a couple years. After that, when Stephanie was pregnant, I started to eat cheese & ice cream again since it was around the house more. Then about 10 years ago, we took a trip to FLA where we enjoyed some fish. At that point, we became occasional fish eaters (a few times a year). Lately, I've been enjoying the more carnivorous side of life again. I'm aware it's not the most environmentally sound dietary change I've ever made, & I can think of a few animals who had other plans than t be digested by me, but I certainly haven't gone overboard w/ this. The one thing I have been enjoying again, though, is a Reuben Sandwich. I'm loving me some Corned Beef. Here is a run-down of the Top 5 Reubens in the area.5) Conor O'Neill's
I was a bit surprised that an Irish pub didn't make it a little higher on the list. The slices of corned beef could have been thinner, but the bread was good.

4) Sidetrack
I had this one quite a while ago; I haven't had another 1 since. I think when going to Sidetrack, I'll have to stick to the Tempe version.

3) Cafe Luwak
I just had this 1 an hour ago. The corned beef was great, but the bread was a bit think & dry. I liked the added touch of the grainy mustard though.

2) Aubree's
I tried this 1 a few Weeks ago when we went there for Aiden's b-day. It's fantastic. They use a great marbled rye & load it down w/ thinly sliced corned beef.

1)The Village Kitchen
The don't have a web-site so a restaurant review page will have to suffice. I tried their Reuben for the 1st time a few months ago when I was out to lunch w/ Laura. It's perfect. The bread is grilled to a delicious buttery crispness. The corned beef is thinly slices & heaping. The Swiss cheese & kraut are great. I was kind of shocked that this place topped the list, but it's a really fantastic sandwich. (I also had their corned beef hash a couple months ago. It's equally good.) They're located right by Plum Market, & if you're over on that side of on, give 'em a go!

Goats... & Kevin Spacey

When I was in elementary school, there was a kid who would bring goat milk in his thermos for lunch everyday. He swore by it, but I was always absolutely appalled. I envisioned him milking the goat straight into the thermos (in hide sight, I kind of doubt that's what was actually happening). He did live on a farm though, so who knows. When I was the dairy buyer @ The Food Hole, I spent about 1/2 of my tenure as a vegan so it never occurred to me to try the goat milk, & then once I started eating dairy again, it just never occurred to me to try it.I have, on the other hand, always enjoyed goat cheese, so a couple months ago, @ Plum Market, I decided to give goat milk a go... & it's awesome! I can't believe I went 35 freakin' years w/o having tried it. I'm lovin' it. In that same vein, I then decided to pick up some goat milk butter... & it's also awesome! I can't get enough if it on toast w/ black currant jam. I've also taken to cooking eggs in it... or anything else that needs to be sauteed, like the morel mushrooms we've been getting from the yard. In fact, I think I'm going to have a piece a toast in just a few minutes while I'm getting ready for my 1st day of the new semester this morning.In other goat news, we watched The Men Who Stare @ Goats a couple weeks ago & it's really good. I'm always up for a George Clooney film, or a Ewan McGregor film, or a Jeff Bridges film, so the fact that they're all in it was cool. The fact that there was really a military group trying to do this shit is ridiculous. Of course, Kevin Spacey was great in it too. We then rewatched L.A. Confidential this week & have since decided that Kevin Spacey will be the actor of the the summer. His filmography is rather lengthy, but over the course of the next few months we'll give it a go. The idea of sitting through Superman Returns again is a bit off-putting though.

Burns Nght Post #4: The Wrap Up

The Dinner:
As y'all know, I rarely eat meat, but for Burns Night I'm happy to indulge in a little haggis. Stephanie has been making a veggie version for years, but last year Wendy brought the real deal. She brought it again this year, & I loved it. It didn't last long, & I feel that it's gotten a bad rap in culinary circles. I get the fact that it sounds nasty... sheep hearts, lungs, & livers ground up & mixed w/ oats & potatoes & then stuffed into the sheep's stomach... but it's delicious.

Stephanie's veggie haggis consists of red & brown lentils, mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, & peanuts. It's awesome. We had it again last night & there are leftovers so I'll be having it again today or tomorrow... if it makes it that long.

I made Brussels sprouts w/ chestnuts. I sauteed the chestnuts in ghee w/ apple & red onion while boiling the Brussels sprouts. They then go into a casserole dish & slipped into the oven w/ more ghee. Brussels sprouts, along w/ haggis, get hated almost universally, & I don't get it. They're really good.

Rachel brought the neeps & tatties... mashed potatoes w/ turnips. Along w/ the haggis, it's the other traditional half of the Burns Night dinner.

Stacey brought oranges (orange & blood) steeped in Drambuie... they were a big hit... & as it turns out, Drambuie is pretty damn good.

Once the other food was gone, Dawn showed up w/ awesome bridies & pasties from Ackroyd's Scotch Bakery in Redford.

The Desserts:
Stephanie made Honey Creams. They're homemade ice cream w/ honey, scotch, whipped cream, egg whites & sugar... they're delicious.

Mary brought fantastic scones w/ whipped cream & fancy homemade jams.

Of course, there was also cheese, chocolate, & spotted dick... & lots & lots of Scotch.

The Scotch:
Dewars... This was mainly for the Honey Creams, but a couple pulls helped the readings go smoothly.
Abelour... I wrote about this a couple weeks ago & decided another bottle was in order.
Laphroaig... I picked this up last week. It's a nice peety Islay. It goes down smooth.
Glenfiddich... I called my dad a couple weeks ago & he was @ the duty free shop on his way to Windsor. I asked what kind of Scotch they had, & he said the Glenfiddich was 35 bucks. I said, "That's not much better than retail. He said, "For a 5th?" I said, "Yeah." He said, "These are liters." I said, "Hook us up!"
Oban... Pete brought this one. It's a nice mixture of the Islay smokiness & the Highland sweetness... It went down smooth.
Caol Ila... Andy brought this one. A fantastic Islay. Everyone loved it.

The Entertainment:
Aiden read "The Selkirk Grace" before the meal. It's the traditional Burns night grace. He practiced the pronunciation for quite a while & did great.
I read "Address to a Haggis" after the grace but before the dinner.
Jim read "To a Mouse" during dinner. He was great. no one could understand a word he said, but he was great.
Andy & Matt both read poems, but I don't recall what they're called, but Andy's was about brothers-in-law & Matt's had something to do w/ the deflowering of a young girl... I think.
I then read about 1/2 of "To a Louse" before it faded away as people lost interest... it was too late in the evening for another reading.
Jim & Joe also played some music... some Mayflys originals, plus some Beatles, GD, & RA covers. Isaiah loved watching them, & so did I.

The Photos:
Here is a link to Stephanie's Facebook album from the party.
Here is a link to Rachel's Facebook album from the party.

All in all, a good time seemed to be had by all. I can't wait until next year. Maybe we'll have to have something sooner like a Tartan Day party or Bloomsday in June. That might be good.

Solstice is 10? Are you shitting me?

Solstice turned 10 yesterday. WTF? It's crazy how fast it goes. When I was 10 I was a shit-head... making out w/ chicks and drinking the occasional beer. I can say w/ confidence that she's not doing these things, but I'm sure they're on the horizon. Well, not the kissing girls part, but kissing boys I'm sure will come soon. So we'll let this be a warning to all the little shit-heads who think they're going to pull the same crap on her that I pulled on the girls when I was her age (& who happen to be avid readers of Visions of Ypsi): Touch her & be prepared to suffer the consequences!Her big day was fun. Family came over Sunday afternoon for cake & presents & then we had our little time yesterday morning. I made a fun breakfast of blueberry pancakes, eggs & brie (no one wanted the cheese but me) after which she opened her presents. In the afternoon, while I was working, Stephanie & Mary took the kids raspberry picking. They came home & proceeded to make jam (& also can some peaches which is apparently a major pain in the ass. They look great though... I'll keep you all posted on the outcome of the canning & jamming, but Stephanie's previous attempts have been fantastic so I have high hopes.

Lighthouses & Ice Cream

If you've known me for any length of time, you might know that I've always had some weird fascination w/ old lighthouses. It may go back to my 1st viewing of Pete's Dragon when I was 6 or 7; I'm not certain, but I know I want to live in one some day. That said, The Coast Guard is giving one away off the coast of Massachusetts. According to Wikipedia, it dates back to 1860 & the 1st 40 feet are solid granite. Apparently, the upkeep is pretty expensive, but it's cool as hell. The only problems would be the fact that there's really no back yard in which to kick a ball around, & because it's solid granite for 40 feet, getting to the top requires going up a ladder on the outside until one reaches the door. That might not go over well w/ Stephanie or the kids.In other awesome news, The Icecreamist Boutique in London will start selling Viagra-Ice cream in September... & it come w/ a shot of absinthe! Here's a picture of Cheryl Cole enjoying the sweet treat. Apparently, Ashley Cole needs more than a hot wife and £90000 a week to get things going.

The Big Big Mud Hens trip

We rolled out of Ypsi yesterday afternoon around 3:00ish & got to Tony Packo's around quarter to 4:00. We by-passed the place across from the field & went straight to the original location on Front St. on the south side of the river. Aiden claimed they have the best hot dogs he's ever eaten, & I have to agree. I hadn't had a chili dog in about 3 years, so I took it upon myself to eat 2. They're great. I've been feeling it ever since, but I'm glad I finally got to enjoy a Packo's dog. I'd always wanted to go there... ever since I saw Klinger talking about it when I was a little kid. Once we finished eating, we went to a nice park along the river for a little while before wee headed to the game here's a full game report from the Toledo Blade). Scranton won the 1st game 7-2, & then The Mud Hens evened things up w/ a 2-0 victory in the 2nd game. There were some ridiculous errors & the pitching left something to be desired, but it was definitely a fun time. In fact, I'm sure we'll be going back soon. Aiden & I got hats & he also got a mini bat & a Cub scouts Mud Hens Sleep Over shirt that he's loving. He also scored a mini-batting helmet w/ an ice-cream Sunday in it. Since I'd already had hot-dogs, I went for another, but it wasn't nearly as good as the Packo's one.

After the games, there was a small fire-works display & then they showed Bolt on the big screens while we set up the tent & relaxed. sleeping on the grass got my allergies going something awful, but we slept pretty well until we were awakened @ 7:00 by someone say we had an hour to get out. The packing up went quickly & we stopped @ Waffle House for breakfast in Sylvania, OH before making it home by 9:30. @ Tony Packo's the view from our seats tents in the outfield Aiden @ the tent dawn @ the ball-park

L'Hopital

My dad went into the hospital yesterday morning to have his right knee replaced. The surgery went well, & he was up & about a little today. I saw him for a few hours, let him beat me in a game of gin, & watched some Sky Sports w/ him where we learned all about the rumored Adebayor move from Arsenal to Man City. I'm going back tomorrow afternoon w/ the kids so they'll get a chance to say hi too. While the physical therapy people were getting him up & moving, I went down to the hospital cafeteria for a snack... I love hospital cafeterias! I scored perogies, egg noodles w/ sauerkraut, a big salad, a pudding, & a Diet Pepsi for 4 bucks. Awesome! I only get hospital cafeteria food once every year or two, so when I get it... I get it good!

Hot Tamales

After talking about an impending trip down to Mexican Town yesterday for a a while @ the Plum Market, I was inspired to pick up a package of corn husks & give the tamales a try. I'd never made them before; in fact, I can't recall when I ever had them @ all. They always seemed like such a good idea, but finding veggie ones is difficult. Well, we had 2 half full containers of corn meal in the cupboard & a bunch of beans & rice so I went for it this afternoon. The process took longer than I expected, but they turned out pretty well. Ahead of time, I didn't even know they needed to be steamed; I figured they get baked or something. Not having the proper huge-ass steamer on hand, I went w/ the soup pot & colander technique which worked well. Since the recipe called for Masa (& I only had regular corn meal... I don't know the difference, but I'm sure there is one) I cut back on the corn meal & added a little flour & baking powder just in case (in case of what??? I have no idea}. I filled them w/ beans, & I pt jalapeno slices in some. Then, according to a recipe I found on-line, I learned that 1 region of Mexico uses pineapple so I put some in a couple to see how it work... damn good! I hadn't experimented in the kitchen in ages, but this was a positive experience. If they weren't such a pain, I'd make them all the time.

Post Wedding Stuff: The Honeymoon Week

After we got re-married last week, we decided to celebrate by making the last 7 days a sort of de facto honeymoon. Obviously, we didn't go anywhere, but we did enjoy a nice lunch @ Seva after wee filed the marriage certificate @ the County Building. We hadn't eaten there in ages, but it's awesome & the Dewapps & the Krausemakers gave us a gift cert as a wedding present so we took full advantage of it... Thank you very much Steve & Annette & Jim & Rachel. We also racked up a trip to Izakaya Sanpei last week in celebration of Aiden's b-day. If you haven't been there... go. It's a fantastic Japanese place on the corner of Joy & Morton Taylor. The following night, again more for Aiden's b-day than for our honeymoon, we went out for pizza after the kids' soccer practice. Saturday, following their match which they again won (they're 4-0), they went to my parents' place for the night so we were able to finish our awesome honeymoon w/ an 9 episode Lost marathon (S3, Ep6-14). We also ordered awesome Chinese food from Chia Shang... the greatest Chinese place of all time... it's next to Morgan & York... eat some!*

Today, we had 2 final post-wedding things to accomplish: insurance & her SSN. Oddly, we had nearly opposite experiences. We tried to do the SSN after Seva last week, but it just so happens that the SS office in Washtenaw moved a couple years ago so we had to put it off until today. I waited in the car w/ Isaiah while she went in only to learn that she needed all sorts of other paperwork to change her name even though her name change had nothing to do w/ the paperwork for which they were asking... apparently it was some Homeland Security issue... George Bush policy changes: the gift that keeps on giving. She'll need to go back yet again to finish her simple little task. The woman was really nice though so Stephanie didn't feel she could get too upset @ her which seems about right.

My happy little trip to HR was a different matter though. I showed up w/ everything filled in except for my SSN, my signature, & the date. The woman quickly entered everything & then set the form down saying I needed to fill in the last couple things. I took the paper & a pen to a table, did what needed to be done, & then gave them back to her... to which she responded, "I WOULD HAVE PREFERRED IF YOU'D ASKED TO BORROW MY PEN RATHER THAN JUST TAKING IT!" I was stunned. The form & the pen were set down side by side & it was the only pen I saw. Common sense suggested that I was to use it. I apologized & left. At that point, I reconsidered my apology. Why was I sorry? I'd done nothing wrong. Rather than be the doormat for some jerk in the HR office, I turned around. (Stephanie's issue was w/ protocol but a nice person; mine was w/ a rather angry person but the protocol was simple.) I went back into her office & said, "excuse me, you didn't need to take that tone; I WOULD HAVE PREFERRED IT IF YOU'D ACTUALLY OFFERED ME A PEN!" I don't know why such a simple thing needed to turn into a yelling match. As it turns out, I think I would prefer my situation over Stephanie's though. She was mean, but things got done. Stephanie has the inconvenience of having to go back yet again... & I certainly wouldn't trade places w/ her just so I could deal w/ a nice person.

*Footnote: After all that food, I need to get back to dieting & I decided to overhaul Tastes of Ypsi in order to do this. It will now be a food log (dlog??) since it hadn't been used in so long anyway & since I feel that if I actually publish everything I eat every day, I'll be less inclined to eat crappy food. I don't know how long I'll keep it up, but it seems like a good starting point.

The Root Beer Post

Last summer I was on about Orange Crush, & while I'm certainly not off of the Crush, I haven' been quite as soda-oriented lately. That said, I just had a fantastic root beer (a Frostop w/ dinner & thought I'd mention it. Jason will tell you A&W is the best, & as for frosted mugs w/ on-tap root beer he's absolutely right. I'm gonna focus on the bottled stuff though. Obviously, claiming to have had ever brand would be ridiculous, but I have tried a lot over the years. Here they are, rated on a scale of 1-5, in reverse alphabetical order (if you can think of others that I've tried, or others you've tried & would like to rate, be sure to leave the old comments):

Wild Bill's *****
A nice creamy body w/ a sweat, full finish. It's really good.

Virgil's ***
A bit pretentious, but better than their ginger ale

Stewart's ***
A basic, rootbeer w/o many bells or whistle, but it's fine

Sioux City ****
To quote The Stranger, "That's a good one." It is the grand daddy, after all.

Natural Brew **
A decent body, but the finish is a bit thin and uninteresting

Mug *
Fine in a pinch, but certainly nothing to write home about

Jones***
Considering how popular this is, I would have thought it'd be better, but it's tolerable

IBC ****
The 1st micro-brewed root beer I ever had. You've all had it and it's pretty damn good.

Hires **
Better than most of the major label brews.

Hansen's **
Similar to Natural Brew. It opens well, but the finish is thin and tinny. Hints of marzipan and dried cherries.

Goose Island ***
Like their beer, it's good, but not great. It's certainly better than some though

Frostop *****
Creamy and full bodied. This is a quality brew. They sell it @ Washtenaw Liqueur... try it! Nothing tops it, but the foam... or so they say.. & i think they might be right.

Frostie ***
I imagine it was a lot better before they changed the recpe adding the high fructose corn syrup and artificial sweetners & dropping the cane sugar. It's nothing special now.

Faygo ***
Much better than one would expect. A nice full flavor & the finish has a little bite

Dad's ****
I remember liking this a lot, but it's been a long time. I don't recall much about it

Boylan ***
Another tolerable brew.

Blue Sky ***
There's something about the labels sold in the natural Foods Stores that misses the mark. It's like Natural brew and Hansen's... decent, but thin and forgettable

Barq's *
Stay away from this stuff... it's BAD!

A&W ***
Probably the best of the main stream brews. The plastic bottes doon't do it justice though. Do like Jason & get a frosty mug.

Of all the Douchebags on The Food Network...

Which of these is the douchebaggiest?
I've narrowed it down to 3. Emeril Lagasse doesn't count because he's no longer the face of the network. Instead, they've given us these asshats. Which 1 gets your vote? We can use this mini-election as a practice run for the build up to the big end of the year celebration here @ Visions of Ypsi. And while we're thinking about that, don't forget to start considering who you'll nominate for the 4th Annual Celebrity MILF of the Year Award. Now, w/o further ado, here are your 3 choices for the lead Douche on The Food Network:
Guy Fieri: Host of an otherwise pretty cool show, Diners, Drive-ins & Dives "Hey brah, who's up for some sick beer-pong?"

Mario Batali: Iron Chef & host of countless mediocre cooking shows including 1 called Mario Eats Italy... & by looking @ him, I wonder if maybe he actually did. Here's a picture of the man who, like George Lucas, wears a beard solely to let people know where his face ends & his neck begins "Bonus points if you can find my chin before I sweat all over you"

Bobby Flay: The Iron Chef whose frat-boy good looks only mask his frat-boy date-rapist personality. This dude creeps me out! Along w/ being an Iron Chef, he has also hosted an ass load of shows including Boy Meets Grill. "Hey baby, I've got a box of wine w/ your name on it in the back seat of my sweet ride!"

Holiday Post #2: 2 Foods

Hot Sauce
Lately, I've really gotten into trying different hot sauces. Of course, I've had Clancey's (for those of you non-locals, a local hot sauce company) for many years & it's fantastic. 5 or 6 years ago, it was even the subject of a Food Network show about local food companies. That episode, if I remember correctly, also discussed Tony Packo's in Toledo... home of Klinger's favorite hot dogs & pickles. My recent fascination started after putting Frank's Red Hot on some eggs @ The Golden Egg. Of course, it wasn't called the Golden Egg then; the place has changed owners countless times lately. Well, technically, I think it's just been passed back & forth between a couple cousins for tax purposes. The funny thing is that I'd had Frank's plenty of times in the past; I love it on falafels & Mexican food, but w/ breakfast it did something different to my food & I needed to put it on everything thereafter. For X-Mas last year, Jean got me a bottle of Moonlight BBQ (a local Owensboro dive from which he also scored me a pretty sweet brown trucker hat) hot sauce which is great in chili, but I haven't really put it on much else because it's a bit too BBQy for potatoes or lasagna. A couple months ago, I bought a bottle of D. J. Jardine's Texas Champagne. It's good on chili dogs, but w/o the other spices it's pretty bland & doesn't really stand alone very well. Then, the other day @ Plum Market, I tried The Tropical Pepper Company's XXtra Hot Sauce which I'm really likin'. Although it has the double X in the title, the heat doesn't overpower the flavor as is the case so often. This brings up a 2nd issue though: why do we use the same system to rate hot sauce that we use to rate porn? Maybe I've mentioned this before, but I don't think so. A single X is like soft-core Cinemax porn... tits & bush. XX may have penetration but in a pretty tame way. Hot sauce w/ an XXX is, I guess, the sauce equivalent of a 12 layer face glaze.... or, if it's really hot, Tub Girl in a bottle. I haven't tried any XXX hot sauces. Anyway, feel free to post your favorite hot sauces so I can give them a try.Egg Nog
Speaking of porn, egg nog has a certain consistency that, I imagine, some people find rather revolting. None-the-less, it tastes awesome. I just got a free bottle of Guernsey Egg Nog today from Plum Market & Solstice & I almost finished it already. When it comes to drinking nog, I'm like a turkey getting fed: if no one stops me, I'll just keep drinking & drinking & drinking. It's like I can't judge when enough is enough. Although, I admit it's pretty apparent a 1/2 hour later when I feel like shit. Drinking egg nog before Thanksgiving seems a bit decadent to me, but it's the holiday season after all, so it makes for a great holiday season post.

The Mayflys: Live @ The Corner Brewery

The official stage set-list signed by Jim Joe... note Joe's drunken mis-spelling of my name

To celebrate the Jim's big 4-0, The Mayflys (Jim, Joe, Charles, etc from the English Dept) played their debut show @ The Corner last night. This wasn't really the 1st time they played out, but the 1st time under that name. You may remember my reports on the English Dept. X-Mas party last year or on Andre Peltier is a High-On from last spring, but as far as they're concerned, those don't count so we here @ Visions of Ypsi aren't counting them either. The turn out last night was fantastic: tons of Dept. people, some former students, lots of neighborhood/local friends, old friends we hadn't seen in quite a while, & even a few people from the Dark Green Team who finished top of the table a few weeks ago in the Canton Over 30 league. Everyone had a great time, lots of good beer was had, & Isaiah was quite the hit. As far as the music is concerned, they were really fun. It seems like the general consensus is that people want they to play out more so I hope they get a few gigs. Supposedly, they'll put the show up on the archive soon for all to enjoy. (If you've never checked out the Archive before, take a look @ all the free live music... & it's 100% legal too!) Here's the set-list from last night:
Set I
Cold
What We Hide
Wall of Sound
Rain
Over My Shoulder
A Girl in Port
Where You Gone
When That Day of Judgement Comes
Thinkin' About the End
Not Fade Away

Set II
Sullen
Shameless
Terrible Sight
Dear Prudence
Come Pick Me Up
Baby, We All Gotta Go Down

Befpre the party, wee went out to dinner @ Chia Shiang, the greatest Chinese place this side of China. We'd never eaten there before though... just gotten take out, so it was a fun time, except for the kids in the booth behind Stephanie who kept pushing on the seat while they were making out. The next table featured a rather obese couple sitting w/ another guy, & the large man (who kind of looked familiar) kept going on & on about movies & music & specifically David Byrne. It was like the scene in Annie Hall w/ Mashall McLuhan... I really wanted to hit him on a gut level. The food was great though, so we were able to overlook the weirdness before we made our annual X-Mas trip to World Market which marks the official Visions of Ypsi beginning of the Holiday Season. Unless of course, it began yesterday w/ the unofficial Holiday music post.

Halloween Post #2: Pumpkins

Yesterday afternoon, my parents came by & we took the kids to a pumpkin place in Dexter, Jenny's Dexter Farm Market. We've been there a few times in the past, but this year it was by far the most crowded I've seen it. It's a great place w/ lots of delicious canned food like fancy salsas & pickles, but we might need to find a less crowded place next year. If you go, I definitely recommend the horseradish pickles & of course the cider & donuts, but the bees are a bit out of control near the picnic tables w/ all the sugar from the cider & donuts around.We got a couple pumpkins & the kids had fun playing in the hay stack tunnels for a while before we left. Then, on the way home, we made a quick stop by the old Plum Market to pick up stuff for dinner. Usually, when my parents are over, we order in pizza or Chinese, but I decided to make some sweet, sweet chili for Coney dogs. I even splurged & got turkey dogs for my parents so they wouldn't have to suffer through Smart Dogs. My love for chili dogs goes back to Super Bowl XVI (Cincinnati v San Francisco @ the Silverdome). My parents had friends over for the afternoon, we all went cross country skiing, & then came home for the game & a mountain of chili dogs. Of course, this was also the day that my brother (who was 4 months old @ the time) fell off the counter. The reason he was on the counter has been lost to history, but the overall goodness of a chili dog will never be forgotten. Ironically, he's been a bigger proponent of chili dogs over the last 20 years than anyone else I've ever known.

2 Recommendations

While grocery shopping yesterday, we came upon a new (or @ least new to us) snack food that needs a mention here: Osem Bassli Falafel. They're little wheat sticks w/ cumin & garlic. It's pretty crazy how much they actually taste like falafel. If you like falafel, you'll dig these fun little snacks. Give 'em a try. You won't be sorry.You may recall my review of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars film from August. Well, the animated series began last weekend & Aiden & I watched the 1st 2 episodes last night (& will watch the next 2 this evening). The Australian Clone Trooper is a bit odd; I keep expecting him to bust out a Fosters & call Yoda "Bruce." It doesn't seem likely, but Aiden's undying dedication to this show is pretty likely. In fact, I'm digging it too. It's obviously no Empire Strikes Back, but it's fun & really, aside from the really odd animation, what else can one ask for from a George Lucas show.. maybe a few musical numbers, but that still isn't out of the questions because Star Wars musical numbers, of course, are the promise of the tree of life.